First mini reviews of the year- and of two new MG titles! (: The matching colour scheme for these covers, in the same post, was entirely coincidental, but I’ll admit it looks cool ;)! Even though they’re both targeted at similar age groups, they’re really different in genres. Read on for magical, mysterious babies and a Gothic girl’s adventures with a ghostly mouse…

Little Celeste by Dawn McNiff

Published by Hot Key Books, 3rd April 2014. Click here for the Goodreads synopsis and profile!

Little Celeste was really interesting. I’m quite mixed on it, truthfully! It was a really sweet story: magical, hopeful, with a Ghibli-movie feel to it, a reason I loved it. I loved the idea of the story- it had me very interested right from when it was mentioned in a Hot Key event a while ago! A girl walks into her room to find a small lavender eyed baby on her bed, that nobody else can see. It was much more emotional than I thought it would be, covering unlikely friendships, bullying, families and their hardships, all in a very short book.

I did enjoy reading the story, as it was a happier break between two pretty dark YA books. However, I did feel that the narration was quite hard to love. I know the story was told from the view of a young girl, but sometimes, I just couldn’t get along with it! The events moved quite fast too, and I was left wanting so many more answers. The ending was really beautiful, but not…. completely satisfying for me. I needed everything answered, and I don’t really feel I got everything answered! I think if the book had been a little longer, I would have enjoyed it more than I did. Though, I do think this is going to be a very well loved Children’s book!

My Rating:

I received a copy of Little Celeste from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.

Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse by Chris Riddell

Published by Macmillan, 12th September 2013. Click here for the Goodreads synopsis and profile!

Goth Girl was a really fun MG read! It’s short, and I do really want to read more from this unique setting soon, because Chris Riddell is just a pure genius. Ada Goth was a really unique and quirky protagonist, and the story was eccentric and fun to get lost in. For some reason, this reminded me of an old favorite, Flora Segunda of Crackpot Hall!

The setting was bold and imaginative- and it’s a house I seriously want to stay in. Ada’s family and servants, and governesses are all really funny and brilliant characters.

I’ll admit that at a few points, I did find myself skimming a few sentences… though that was mainly due to the fact that I was gawping at the illustrations that are seriously gorgeous and utterly distracting (a good and a bad thing ;)) There were scenes I enjoyed more than others, and I think that I wanted much more involvement from Ishmael the mouse! Though, of course, there is an extra book inside Goth Girl about him, which was so awesome. The edition is seriously pretty, and Goth Girl is a tale that’ll be enjoyed by anybody!

My Rating:

I received a copy of Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse as a Christmas present.